16 Tips to Become the Best EFL Teacher

1. Learn your students’ names.

You will be able to control your class better and gain more respect if you learn the
students’ names early on. If you are one who has a poor memory for names, ask each
student to bring a photo of his own and write his name below it. Your students will be
impressed when you call them with their names.
2. Establish authority from the beginning.
Establish a system for communication in the classroom from the first day. Deal quickly
with inappropriate conduct in a friendly yet firm manner.
3. Be overly prepared.
You must be well mentally prepared for each lesson. You should know the sequences
of activities and how long each activity will take. You should also have an additional
activity prepared in case you have extra time.
4. Always consider the learners’ needs when preparing for each lesson.
Why are your students studying English? How will they use English in the future? What
do they need to learn? The answer of these questions helps you specify what and how
to teach and what to focus on.
5. Be prepared to make changes to your lesson plan.
If the lesson you have prepared isn’t working, don’t be afraid to modify it. Be sensitive to
the students and the conditions around.
6. Find out what learners already know.
This is an ongoing process. Students may have already been taught a particular
grammar point or vocabulary. Base your lesson on their prior knowledge and provide
them with additional information that they don’t know.
7. Be knowledgeable about grammar.
You don’t have to be a linguist to teach EFL. Most of what you need to know can be
learned from reading the students’ books. Often the rules and explanations about
structure in the students’ books are much more accessible and realistic than in other
books
8. Be knowledgeable about the learners’ culture.
The learners’ culture can be a valuable tool for teaching. Knowing it will raise your ability
to communicate effectively with your students.
9. Don’t stick literally to the set book.
Add any extra necessary vocabulary, functions, grammar, or topics that you feel the
students may want or need.
10. Don’t assume that the set book will always work.
Many activities must be modified to make them work, and some have to be changed
completely to cope with the educational setting.
11. Teach vocabulary effectively.
The building blocks of language are not grammar and functions. The most essential
thing students need to learn is vocabulary; without vocabulary you have no words to
form sentences, no words to pronounce. Help your students to use the stock of
vocabulary in their minds and learn more.
12. Proceed from more controlled activities to less controlled ones.
Not always, but in general, present and practice more structured activities before freer
or more open ones.
13. Don’t neglect the teaching of listening.
Listening is the most important skill to teach your students. While listening to each other
and to the teacher will improve students’ overall listening ability, this can be no
substitute for listening to authentic English. As much as possible, try to expose your
students to authentic English in a variety of situations. The best way to do this and the
most realistic is through audios and videos. Videos are much more motivating and
culturally loaded.
14. Turn regular activities into games or competition.
Many familiar teaching points can be turned into games or activities with a competitive
angle. It is a sure way to motivate students and activate them to work on the language.
15. Motivate your students with variety of activities.
By giving a variety of interesting topics and activities, students will be more motivated
and interested, and they are likely to practice more.
16. Don’t leave the learners in the dark.
Explain exactly what they are expected to learn in a particular lesson. Make sure that
students know what they are doing and why. Each task should be introduced so well
that students know what to do exactly.